The Callboard Blog

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The Callboard:
The online home of the men and women of the Department of Theatre
and The Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee

The Callboard Blog

September 30, 2007

I was there in Cincinnati when the Cubs Clinched!

Filed under: Roger's Musings — rchoover @ 10:35 pm

Anyone can have a bad century every now and then.

I didn’t come up with that witticism, but it has been directed toward my beloved Chicago Cubs, who won back-to-back world championships in 1907 and 1908 and haven’t gotten it done since.  In fact, they have not even played in the World Series in my lifetime — their last visit to the Fall Classic was in 1945.

So, don’t been surprised when Die-Hard Cub Fans get excited when things go our way.

Cubs Central Division ChampsThe Season Finale Series
My family and I were in Cincinnati this weekend when the Cubs clinched the National League Central Division Championship.  They beat the Reds soundly Friday night, but had to hang around the locker room for a while for the San Diego Padres to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, sealing the deal.  The Cubbies did it again Saturday afternoon, so the external help wasn’t a necessity, but it was a relief to get it over with that night.

Now we’ll see how it goes in the playoffs — as we saw last year, the worst team to make the playoffs won the World Series, so anything can happen… (ducking from responses from Cardinals fans…)

The Road Taken
For a while Friday, we didn’t know if we would make it — not the Cubs, but the Hoovers.  We were making great progress toward Cincinnati and were departing the Lexington area North on I-75 when things slowed down, then really slowed down, and eventually everyone just stopped. And waited.  And people got out of their cars.  The people in the lane behind us (one Reds fan, one Cubs fan) were also trying to get to the game.  If we’d known in advance, we’d have tailgated there on the highway.  Turns out that a truck overturned and burned (fortunately, the driver wasn’t seriously injured).  But for whatever reason, they had major difficulties clearing the roadway — we were stuck there for three-and-a-half hours!  The game began soon after we started moving again, but we were able to keep up through the WLW broadcast.  We proceeded with haste toward Great American Ballpark — by the time we got there, traffic wasn’t a major concern.  We had already called our hotel and our room was being held until 4 a.m., so we went directly to the game. 

Beside the ballpark, we found a sympathetic traffic cop and asked him where was a good place to park.  “You mean for people who arrive in the middle of the third inning?” he joked.  And then my wife volunteered that we were Cubs fans, so he instructed us to “take I-74 West toward Chicago”…  But then he actually provided us with directions to a really great parking spot — and our car hadn’t even been towed away when we came back after the game.

Wrigleyville on the Ohio
We expected to join quite a few other Cubs fans there, although the Reds TV broadcasters in their preceding series had been urging Cincinnati fans to show up and wear red.  As we entered the ballpark and proceeded toward our section, I heard a roar from the crowd and thought “Uh oh”… But then the field revealed that the sound was a positive reaction to a Chicago base hit from the legions of Cubs fans there - I think we had at least two-thirds of the attendees in our camp.

We found our seats among a large group of Cubs fans.  There were a few Reds fans here and there, but they were pretty quiet and some of them left before the game was over.  As the Cubs extended their lead during the contest, their supporters became more vocal, sensing that the Divisional championship was drawing nigh.   

Scoreboard Watching
And then, during an otherwise noneventful at-bat, the stadium erupted, no doubt perplexing the players on the field.  The crowd was watching the outfield scoreboard showing the status of other games, and when it showed the Padres going ahead of the Brewers, people went nuts.  It happened several more times during the course of the game as the score was updated, with the odd chant of “Let’s Go Padres” popping up.  The Cubs won their game 6-0, and you would have thought it was Wrigley Field, with cheering, the appearance of numerous “W” flags, and the spontaneous singing of Go, Cubs, Go!.  No one wanted to leave, especially considering that the Padres-Brewers game was an hour behind our game and everyone wanted to check on its progress.  [Lost $ Opportunity 1] But the Great American Ballpark employees were anxious to go home and started turning off lights.  One Cub fan behind me noted that they should have put the conclusion of the San Diego-Milwaukee game on the Jumbotron.  With the Cub fans still there and concessions stands open, they could sell a lot of beer, he said…

The Clinch and the Celebration
But everyone had to leave.  We finally checked into our hotel.  We still hadn’t eaten, but delayed that quest at the Lobby Bar to see the last half inning of the game in Milwaukee.  The place was packed with Cubs fans and went wild as the Padres finished off the postseason hopes of the Brewers.  The Cubs Nation erupted, with total strangers high-fiving each other.  The Cubs anthem broke out again.

Out in the streats of downtown Cincinnati, their enthusiasm did not diminish.  What I call the “downtown” area of Cincinnati is pretty small, consisting mainly of Fountain Square and the hotels and restaurants nearby on 4th, 5th, and 6th Streets, give or take a street or two.  By the way, they’ve been re-doing Fountain Square, and I hope it works.  It’s a nice urban center, and the fountain itself (the Tyler Davidson Fountain) is one of the best in the nation, with water droplets spraying out of hundreds of tiny holes in the fingers of The Genius of Water (”The Lady”).  On this particular Friday night, the hotels were packed with people wearing Cubs gear, and they were hungry.  And thirsty.  Some of them mainly thirsty.  Some of them really thirsty! 

[Lost $ Opportunity 2] Cincinnati is a lovely city, but it is somewhat on the conservative, quiet, stay-at-home side.  The number of restaurants in the Fountain Square area at 11 p.m. on a Friday night was rather limited.  We first tried the Rock Bottom Brewery, right on Fountain Square (or, due to construction, up some temporary walkways).  The management (if they had any — they never appeared) was totally overwhelmed by the crowd — they didn’t have any plan to handle the throngs suddenly appearing late, so they just quit.  “Find yourself a table if you can” was the response from the occasionally appearing employees.  The main dining room side was closed (there were people still eating there, so their timing was perfect - if you close right before your customers get there, you won’t have to deal with them.)

[Exploited Opportunity] So we wandered down 5th Street to Champs, inside the Hyatt Regency.  Not only were they open, they had tables open and seemed happy to serve any customers who walked in.  (And at the prices they charged for beverages and hamburgers, it’s no wonder!)  Fortunately, some of their TVs were tuned to WGN, which had extended coverage from the locker room at Great American Ballpark (many bottles of Champagne were guzzled, sprayed, and poured over heads) and of the crowd gathered at the corner of Clark & Addison (under the Wrigley Field marquee) to celebrate.  It was great fun.  Champs made a ton of money that evening catering to the people Rock Bottom Brewery didn’t seem to care about. 

Is there a business lesson here?  Something about anticipating events, being flexible, and doing things you might not want to do in order to make a lot of money.  There’s also something there about people in service businesses being actually interested in providing people service…

The Whine
Now with any large group of happy fans, there were a few who perhaps celebrated too much (or too loudly).  And I’m quite sure that some Cincinnatians were annoyed by the Cub fans.  Some of them were on the radio.  The post-game show on WLW is (or was) hosted by Tracy Jones who is a former major league baseball player (he constantly tells his listeners this and that people who haven’t been in the major leagues can’t possibly understand the game).  I had no memory of him at all, so I Googled him and found that he did in fact play in the majors six fair-to-mediocre seasons.  Manager Pete Rose said this about him:

“I like aggressiveness, but Tracy has to learn to control his…He has to learn you don’t have to swing at the first pitch every time…He never quits moving…He gets just enough of a lead so he has to dive back into first and get his uniform dirty. Then his night is complete.”

Tracy went to the game Friday evening and then whined about sitting behind three Cubs fans who annoyed him with their cheering.  Then he went the ad hominem route, describing them as “Two pencil-necked geeks and a fat woman”.  We did maintain that there was bad language used, but he didn’t want to get into a confrontation with these people.  I suppose it didn’t occur to him to call an usher or security person…

I think his basic problem is that he’s been unhappy with the way the Reds have been playing and that what he considers an inferior team (the Cubs) is having success and their fans are enjoying it.  Oh, and he may be leaving the post-game show.

Saturday: Champions
The next day we were able to find lunch without any problems!  After checking out of our hotel, and carting our luggage a half block to our parking garage (parking is much cheaper in Cincinnati than Chicago!), we rode the elevator up with a man in a chef’s outfit.  I couldn’t resist asking him if he new a good place to eat around there… The place he works is recommended: The Cadillac Ranch.  Lots of Cubs fans served, lots of large-screen TVs with college football, and I enjoyed a 1lb hot dog with chili (thus complying with Cincinnati culinary customs).  I also didn’t have to eat much at the ballpark.

Due to the events of the night before, the game on Saturday was a little anticlimactic — more of a victory party atmosphere.  Cubs fans were perhaps 75 to 80 percent of those in attendance.  Someone brought their own (plastic) bunting they attached to a railing.  There was an angel (with wings and halo).  And a child had a hand-lettered sign, “This is next year, Grandma!”  Of course, the Cubs had celebrated into the early morning, so the lineup was radically different: only one regular starter in the lineup.  Sam Fuld, until recently one of the Tennessee Smokies, started in right field.  But Rich Hill (who was just supposed to throw three innings) had a no-hitter into the sixth inning.  And the Cubs won again.  Chicago fans marched out of the stadium singing (more of us really should learn the verses to Go, Cubs, Go! — when we’re away from Wrigley and on our own, it’s usually just the chorus over and over and over…) and shouting, across I-74 and into the downtown streets.  Everything was great as we got in our car and prepared to leave town. 

If only I could have figured out how to find I-75 South from Downtown… 

 

September 27, 2007

Casting for Film

Filed under: Auditions, Students — rchoover @ 8:41 pm

Maryville Film Club has an open casting for their new film project MASONS OF MARYVILLE, A ROMANTIC COMEDY.
The casting will take place at the Blount County Public Library, located at 508 N. Cusick Street Maryville, TN 37804.

Casting begins at 10:00 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday, October 27, 2007

If you are planning to read during your screen test you are asked to get a list of characters by emailing the Club, at maryvillefilm@yahoo.com for a list.

THIS PROJECT IS A DEFFERED PAYMENT FILM.

CLUBS MISSION, TO ENTER THE FINISH FILM SHORT IN FESTIVALS.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR TECHNICAL CREWS IN ALL POSITIONS.

 

September 25, 2007

WGAP in Maryville

Filed under: Roger's Musings — rchoover @ 11:19 pm

I just read a Letter to the Editor in The (Maryville) Daily Times written by Glenn Morton commemorating the 60th anniversary of radio station WGAP.  As Glenn relates, WGAP was an important part of daily life in Maryville for many years.  The letter took me back to the days of my youth.  Yes, I was a DJ.

And no, smart alecs, I was not there when the station was founded.  I started part-time there soon after I got out of college and soon took over the evening board shift.  I could proudly tell my friends and family that I had the top-rated night-time radio program in Blount County.  [Sometimes I would also confess that the only other station had to sign off at sunset…]

But it was fun (and educational) working there, even though I worked there only about a year and a half.  I arrived a while before my shift started to record commercials.  I didn’t have to write them, just add music or sound effect and read the words written by the copywriter.  Things went pretty well — I remember driving through the area three or four years later and tuning to the station and being shocked when I heard my voice still being used on one of the spots.  Of course, as a staff announcer, these things were just part of the job — no residuals!

I only remember having to do-over one of the spots I recorded during my time there.  It was for a local furniture company.  I was young, with a fresh University of Tennessee diploma with a major in broadcasting, so I figured I knew quite a bit.  But I was informed that the “book answer” isn’t always the right one, at least not in Maryville.  Part of the copy referred to “Bedroom Suites”, and that’s what I recorded.  But that’s not what you say around here — it’s pronounced like “suits”.  No arguments were in order.  I recorded the spot again.

After awhile I began to get comfortable with the routine there.  I’d play country music (using a medium called “records”, kids) and play our recorded spots, bring up stuff from the network (Mutual!), and toward 11 p.m. would check with local law enforcement, the fire department, and so on to make sure we were up to date for the day’s final newscast.  One feature which seemed really quaint to me was the “Obituaries of the Air“.  At least at our station, we didn’t have the funeral organ music playing behind them.  But one night it suddenly became real to me.  I didn’t really do any preparation for the obituary portion of the news; I just took the announcements (called in from the funeral homes) and read them.  This night, I was midway through one death notice when it dawned on me that I knew the person whose death I was announcing.  It was an elderly black lady who had lived in a nursing home in Knoxville.  I used to go with a group to carol at Christmas at this nursing home, and this lady was our favorite.  She would love to sing along with us in her own unique style.  When I realized it was her, my voice caught just a brief moment, but I continued through it all.  I had a job to do.  However, those obituaries were never just routine after that.

I met some nice people in Maryville while working at WGAP.  The people at the radio station were all great, although being the “night guy”, I didn’t see some of them much.  At that time, the station was across the street from the Blount County Courthouse.  The other half of the buliding was occupied by a Pizza place.  Sometimes I didn’t have time to eat supper before I started my shift (especially after I was working two jobs — the other was a daytime shift doing news for a station in Knoxville), and I’d call next door to get a pizza made.  I got pretty good at timing my trip next door while a 3 minute record was playing.  Occasionally, if I couldn’t really leave the station (like during a football game when timeouts could happen at any time), the wonderful lady that ran the pizza place would even meet me at our front door with my food.

At local sunset (a rounded, FCC sort of time), I’d throw some switches on the transmitter remote control and go to reduced power.  That meant our signal hardly got out of the then-modest city limits of Maryville and Alcoa.  But I did have at least a few listeners, some of them regulars — in particular, a very nice older lady and a also nice young lady (that’s all I’m saying about that…) 

There were also some others I met.  There were a couple of young women who sang with a church group which broadcast a program from our studio who would call me up from time to time, but there was something wierd about them.  One of them started to say some things that were, well, inappropriate.  (She wasn’t my type, so it wasn’t welcome.)  I kinda let her know that she shouldn’t call any more, but she didn’t stop.  She then told me she was going into the hospital.  A few days later, I got a call from her friend.  The girl had died, she said.  This took me aback… and then she said her friend wanted me to have her car.  That was all she had to say.  I knew in my heart that it was all a lie, but at that very moment there was just that tiny bit of doubt…  I checked with the hospital.  The girl had been discharged — discharged as in fine, not dead.   What a wierd, cruel, manipulative hoax.  

I could have used a new car, though…

Otherwise, life was good at WGAP, but the pay was not, and I was ready to advance my career, so when I got an offer to do news fulltime in Knoxville, I left.  WGAP no longer has studios in downtown Maryville, so it’s not the same — but it’s alumni are all over the area — Walker Johnson, Ed Rupp, Bob Bell, Ken Schwall, etc. 

And I’ll always remember my brief time there — especially every night when I’d read the late news, sports, and weather, announce the station call letters, play the national anthem, and turn off the transmitter.  I felt like I was putting Maryville to bed for the evening.

Sleep tight.

 

September 24, 2007

I Just Stopped By to See the Man

Filed under: Theatre, Reading Series — rchoover @ 4:32 pm

I Just Stopped By to See the ManThe Clarence Brown Theatre Reading Series continues this Sunday night (Sept. 30), with I Just Stopped By to See the Man.

The performance is in the CBT Lab Theatre (enter from the ramp off the Pedestrian Mall (between Hess Hall and the Clarence Brown Theatre building, where the closed portion of Andy Holt Avenue used to be…)  It’s very near the intersection of Andy Holt Avenue and Melrose Place.

It’s open to the public, and is free, but seating is limited, so it’s first-come, first-seated!  Curtain time is 7:30 p.m.

The story line: Jesse Davidson, the last of the Delta blues singers, died fourteen years ago. But the story is… he isn’t dead at all. When an English rock band comes to town, the leader, Karl, comes lookng for the truth about his legendary hero and triggers a confrontation of mythic proportions.

Written By: Stephen Jeffreys
Directed by: Karen Kessler

 

Auditions for Lion, Witch, Wardrobe

Filed under: Knoxville, Theatre, Auditions — rchoover @ 2:17 pm

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Auditions!
September 30 from 1pm - 5pm at the Black Box Theatre

Auditionees will need one monologue no more than 2 minutes in length and a headshot (recent photo) and resume of any acting or performance credit or class.

Performances are November 23 thru December 1 and will include 3 school day matinee performances on November 27, 29 and December 1.  All performances at the Bijou Theatre on Gay St. in downtown Knoxville.

Please call the Actors Co-op to set up an audition appointment (909-9300).  More info available at www.actorscoop.net.

Thank you for your consideration!

Amy Hubbard, Executive Artistic Director

 

September 22, 2007

The Joys of Community Theatre

Filed under: Roger's Musings, Reviews — rchoover @ 1:31 pm

At the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee, we have a dual mission: to present professional regional theatre and to train students to do theatre in a professional way, via association with theatre professionals.

Notice the use of the word “professional”.  It’s not a dirty word — it’s associated with people who are talented and well-trained in what they’re doing and who dedicate their lives to their calling.

However, we should never use the word to mean “good” while other theatre is “bad”.  It just isn’t so.  I’ve seen professional theatre that was pretty bad (in my opinion).  And, I’ve seen plenty of amateur theatre that was pretty good.

Last night I saw a production of The Wizard of Oz by the Kingsport Theatre Guild.  The KTG is pure community theatre — amateurs all.  They’ve been at it for 60 years now, using whatver spaces they could fine - barns, high shool auditoriums, church fellowship halls, junior high cafeterias, and now the Kingsport Renaissance Center.  My mother appeared in an early KTG performance before I was born.

OK, this auditorium used to be a junior high school, so even after renovation is still not exactly a perfect or well-equipped stage.

But the production I saw last night was delightful.  OK, there were a few elements that weren’t up to code, but I enjoyed the show, and the audience “got” the message of the musical.

The production budget was tiny.  The orchestra was a piano (played wonderfully by my wife, Musical Director Susan Hoover!)  The sets were by committee, and was whatever got finished in time for opening.  The lighting was whatever was on hand and way inadequate in terms of numbers of instruments.  The stage is small, and there’s no fly space.  Costumes for the most part looked great, although largely parent-constructed and sometimes not consistent.

But with imagination, the audience had a great experience.  OK, maybe they were a little biased, with a large contingent of parents and grandparents of the large numbers of Munchkins on stage.  You really can’t miss too badly when you load the stage with cute kids, and these kids loved the light.  Some were as young as age three (!), so a couple of them waved to their loved ones in the audience during their scene, but it was fun to see them enjoying themselves.

Another given for community theatre is that the pool of available acting talent is uneven — you have to take and use what you have.  Our Dorothy — Sullivan South High School student Sierra Allen, did a wonderful job (sounded a lot like Judy Garland!), and the Wicked Witch of the West was portrayed wonderfully wickedly by Debbie ShounZach Schaftlein was as demonic Nikko (lead Flying Monkey) as you’d ever want to see.  I loved the Crows too, even after some of the corn was knocked over during the scene.  They kept eating it… The Director managed to have the other characters play to their strengths, while minimizing their shortcomings.

Sometimes having financial limitations can be a blessing — it forces you to use your imagination instead of your pocketbook.  Director Judy Womack (who’s acted or directed in about 100 shows of various types now) used what she had available with some creative touches that the audience enjoyed.  With no regular dressing rooms available, or proper storage space for set pieces, the transition from Kansas to Oz and back took a little longer than what you’d want, so something had to fill the “twister” transitions — a spot-lit model house “flying” over the front of the stage, bobbing up and down and twisting in the wind.  (It was manipulated by a fishing rod-and-reel from above!)

The lesson for theatre students — don’t cast aside opportunties just because a production might be “low budget” or “amateur” or “community theatre”.  You can do good work there.  You can be creative there.  You can learn there.

 

Lauren Houston Arrives in Beantown

Filed under: CBT Alumni — rchoover @ 10:53 am

UT Theatre alumna Lauren Houston is now settled in Boston to begin her graduate studies in Television Management at Boston University.

Naturally, Lauren has prepared a video clip showing her apartment, her classroom building, Fenway Park, and environs.

In addition to her outstanding work as a student here, she did a great job working as a Box Office Associate and as a House Manager.  Last year, she taught drama at her alma mater Bearden High School.

By the way, she is still reachable via her gmail account: crazyrojo@gmail.com or her new collegiate email account: lhouston@bu.edu.

 

Vampires Wanted

Filed under: Knoxville, Theatre, Auditions — rchoover @ 10:41 am

Theatre Knoxville Downtown is looking for three males for its production of Dracula, including the part of Dracula/Johnathan.

Auditions are tomorrow evening — that’s Sunday, Sept. 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Theatre Knoxville Downtown, on Gay Street across from Regas Restaurant.

Sharpen your fangs…

 

 

September 21, 2007

Reaction to Parade

Filed under: Theatre, Reviews, Reading Series — rchoover @ 10:20 am

Here’s a letter that Cal MacLean received this week following our CBT Reading Series Production of Parade on Sunday, Sept. 16 in the Lab Theatre:

Dear Mr. Maclean,

This past Sunday we had the pleasure to see the reading of the musical
“Parade” in your Lab Theatre.  It was a compelling piece of theatre with a
powerful story from our American history.  We thought the play was well cast
and their performances were exceptional, given the limited rehearsal time.
This theatre experience has made a lasting impression on us; we simply
cannot stop talking to our friends about this play.  Some have heard of the
story of Leo Frank, while others were fascinated to hear about it.  Tuesday
evening, we “Googled” Leo and Lucille Frank and found their tragedy had been
accurately presented on your stage!  We also learned of the remarkable
impact Leo Frank’s death had upon our American legal system and about the
special interest groups that were spawned from his lynching. 

We are teachers in the Oak Ridge Schools who have used theatre arts many
times in our thirty-plus years of teaching in public schools.  We strongly
believe that this play has tremendous merit and deserves to be performed
again to a wider audience.  We know teachers would use this play to teach
their students about prejudice that existed then and that still exists today
in different forms.  It is our considered opinion that there are many other
groups and individuals who would appreciate a play with this message.  We
ask that you please give it serious consideration in your future play
selection. 

We realize that most musicals are ‘feel good’ performances from which the
audience leaves singing hit tunes.  The “Parade” does not seem fit the “feel
good” genre and its songs are not yet popular.  Nonetheless, we found this
music so compelling that we have purchased the original soundtrack from
Amazon.com! Something about it keeps drawing us back to hear it again.  That
final song by Leo & Lucille (”All the Wasted Time”) is really special!

While we have seen plays on the mainstage of Clarence Brown many times, this
was our first theatre experience in Clarence Brown Lab Theatre.  Needless to
say, it will certainly not be our last!  We have our calendar marked for
future Lab Theatre performances.

Thank you for raising the level of performing arts in our area and we look
forward to more.

Sincerely,

Mike and Barbara Bundy
Oak Ridge, TN  37830

 

The Wizard of Oz: Gags, Shtick, Rhythms and Routines

Filed under: University of Tennessee, Theatre, UT Vols, CBT'ers, Students — rchoover @ 12:35 am

If you’re coming to the UT football game this Saturday (Sept. 22 vs. Arkansas State), arrive a little early and make your way to the University Center for the UT Pre-Game Faculty Showcase, featuring Theatre Department Head and Clarence Brown Theatre Producting Artistic Director Calvin MacLean.

While that might sound exciting in itself, Cal’s topic, The Wizard of Oz: Gags, Shtick, Rhythms and Routines will also feature an eight-minute, two-actor version of the play written by Cal and performed by UT Theatre students Rachel Winfrey as Dorothy and Ash Edwards as everyone else. 

I’ve seen it.  It’s hilarious!  Oh, and check out the “Ruby Red” Slippers…

The Showcase begins at 5:00 p.m. and is free!

Read more about the Faculty Showcase here.

I’ve been fond of The Wizard of Oz for years; when I was an undergraduate student at UT many, many years ago (the early 70’s), my Advanced Television Production class made a documentary television program about the Clarence Brown Theatre production of the play.  (I was the Producer.)  The program was called How to make a Wizard.  I’d love it if someone in the Communications Building magically found the video tape so we could see it again, although it was recorded on the old format 2-inch video tape, so I’m not sure how we could play it…

Fortunately, I’m seeing a live version of the whole play this weekend.  The Kingsport Theatre Guild is presenting the musical at the Renaissance Center there; my lovely wife Susan Hoover is the Musical Director.  I understand they have plenty of talented young munchkins.

 

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